MASSIVE Lonzo Ball Update – Billy Donovan in HOT WATER…

MASSIVE Lonzo Ball Update – Billy Donovan in HOT WATER…

We have some exciting news on Alonzo ball injury update even though we thought that it might be worse than it seems to be right now we’re also going to talk about how Billy Donovan is in hot water with the media and some Bulls fans after this season and the previous

One since he’s been there this is our new co-host Rico greenhow Rico you just want to give a quick introduction there yeah man thanks a lot you know it’s always great to be on here with the the great point guard here Joey Mercer man so it’s always a pleasure to be here and

Uh excited to talk about the Chicago Bulls yeah for sure for sure so we got some uh great topics to talk about today and let’s start out with that first one there being Lonzo closer to return so as we talked about towards the end of last week of course we thought that Lonzo

Might even miss the all of next season because they said that he hasn’t even started sprinting yet but now from what we’re hearing even though Billy Donovan come out and said that there’s some videos showing him dunking showing him running around round shooting threes a whole bunch of different things there

What’s your thoughts on that Rico well I mean thus far a lot of us here like our Chicago fans are really on the up and up here um you know seeing him being able to reverse pivot he’s starting to do a lot of stutter steps with his dribbles seeing him actually

Dunk the basketball and shoot the ball and it looks pretty good and pretty pure right now so obviously there’s a lot of optimism here initially I’m hoping this isn’t a situation like Derrick Rose back in the day where we saw all those videos of him he came out he started the season

And then he retour up the knee so you know it’s really a a a an optimism that is controlled at this point but so far so good yeah for sure and uh desert that article actually we could see it says Bulls Lonzo ball takes another step toward NBA return by Adam Taylor and

This was actually on yardbarker.com starts out by saying Lonzo ball missed the entirety of last season due to a knee injury he has also been ruled out for the rest of this season his absence has coincided with the slide in production from the Chicago Bulls ball

Has a player option on his contract for next season that he’s almost certain to pick up however he has now given Bulls fans a reason to be excited in a new video recently posted on social media the playmaking guard can be seen working out on the court his movement looks

Smooth and he appears to be moving freely so that’s some pretty good news for Bulls fans and even Bulls management to hear and see that video coming out what’s your thoughts on it there Rico well I I mean it’s really great because like I said you know now that

He’s actually running there was that video out there could he get out of a chair obviously he can get out of a chair and at this point in time you know to me I think that he’s either going to be one of two players coming back here

And two players that come to mind that actually played in the NBA one being Shawn Livingston who was a talented point guard much like Lonzo ball was coming out of high school had the horrific knee injury with the Clippers eventually revamped his career with the Golden State Warriors one championship

Rings he was able to refine his jump shot be pretty much automatic from the mid-range still distribute the ball at a high level and knocked down timely threes and then there’s the other end of the spectrum where he could maybe end up like a guy like Brandon Roy Brandon Roy

If you’re not familiar with him played for the Portland Trailblazers I believe he was Rookie of the Year at the time he actually was Dame Lillard before there was a Dame Lillard a guy who could knock down jump shots he could assist the ball

At a high clip and he could get to the mid-range once he had those knee injuries he was never the same again so I believe that we’re looking at one of two players when he comes back both are equal to his height of the 6766 and really you know the

Conditioning I think is one thing that we really really have to think about here but thus far so good seeing him be able to run jump reverse cut dunk jump shots things like that it looks good now but I’m waiting to see what happens when he gets against a live defense yeah for

Sure and a very good comparison there in both of those players and sea Livingston with a three-point shot if that were to be capable even in the latter part of his career is uh definitely a great player to have on any team if you’re looking to win so that would be

Definitely something exciting to uh look forward to which leads us into this next part of the article which is ball last played on January 14th 2022 where he faced the Golden State Warriors he was 24 when his injury struck missing two years of basketball will undoubtedly have lowered his ceiling as a potential

Star nevertheless the Bulls had constructed their roster around balls passing in defense he was supposed to be the metronome that led them toward a championship those skills aren’t something you lose he could still be the player of Chicago envisioned him becoming it’s going to take some time

Before ball is back at his best he will need to work through the Encore conditioning issues that come with such a lengthy layoff it will take time for him to develop a rhythm with his shot and the Bulls will need to be patient with his ability to defend at an elite

Level on the perimeter and that’s true I mean he was one of the best big switches I’ve seen when it comes to not actually a big switching on the guards but a guard switching on the bigs that’s going to be really difficult for him with the

Surgeries on that knee and having to put some pressure If bigger players are trying to put their weight on him yeah absolutely I mean I I can agree with you more and I think also to the Eastern Conference and not just the Eastern Conference but the Western Conference guards have gotten a lot

Better think about this in the Eastern Conference alone he’s going to have to guard guys like Tyrese Maxi he’s going to have to be able to guard a guy like Dame Lillard he’s going to have to be able to switch out on combo guards like Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown who have

Certainly got better and then that’s not even just to account for the Western Conference when you look at guys like shillas Alexander can you see Lonzo having to pick up a guy like Anthony Edwards who might be the MVP this year or a guy like kawi Leonard Paul George

So certainly that conditioning and being able to go ahead and switch on bigs he’s going to have to have some strength in the legs to be able to do these things and this is where it is the optimism that we really have to we really have to

To to kind of make sure that we level this optimism because it’s just not a real certainty of what type of player we’re going to get back you also mentioned about how the Bulls had actually built the roster around him which is absolutely true I believe they

Were 46 and 36 in that season before he went down and now you have the Ascension of of Kobe white and who I think is probably the most improved player in the NBA at this point in time so you know there could be some rotational issues at

This point so giving him the keys to the car again I don’t know if coach Billy Donovan or whoever is going to be there is going to be reluctant to do so yeah and I mean Kobe white for sure have to agree with that being the most improved

Player almost 10 points per game of a difference between last year I mean we didn’t even know how long he was going to be around with how he was playing when Lonzo was out there where would his minutes come he looked like a sixth man at best but now he’s shown that he’s

Definitely worthy of some playing time this team giving the keys to him is a smart decision even though he’s been on a slump as of late but uh d could definitely be a guy I think to help Lonzo as he comes back in the defensive end just until he gets comfortable with

That uh level of play again I mean the difference between in an open gym and the NBA as you mentioned is crazy different which leads us into the next part of this article which is nevertheless when ball does return to the rotation it will be a significant

Upgrade for the Bulls however seeing how his return affects Kobe white who has been enjoying a breakout season will be interesting for fortunately for white We’re unlikely to see ball this season still multiple question marks will be hanging over Billy Donovan’s guard rotation to begin next season and uh

That I mean that’s absolutely accurate I mean lots of guards on this team and it’s not going to be easy if Lonzo comes back just to make it in that rotation with what they’ve built what do you think about that uh with the point guards we have on this team right now

Rico well first and foremost we’ve got to give Kobe white his flowers I I think that Kobe has done an incredible job of going out there getting serious in the gym you can tell that his handle has gotten a lot better and though he is in

A little bit of a slump I believe he was four of 27 the last three games as far as shooting the basketball he has relatively shot the basketball very well and has stretched the defense and just speaking of the Cavaliers in that double overtime game I think Donovan Mitchell

Had mentioned that Kobe white certainly belongs in this league and I think it’s it’s been incredible with what he’s done so and in my opinion he’s definitely the starting point guard as far as dumo and how he’s done I love him he’s a HomeTown kid I love how defensively he is able to

Play the passing lanes and I think his jump shot has gotten a lot better since his rookie season and he’s been well-deserving to play as well and you talk about that being able to help Lonzo certainly assimilate on the defensive end I think yes he is going to have to

Rely on these two you know will Lonzo ball be able to get back to a 13 points per game 5.4 assists a game and five rebounds a game possibly a triple double that is probably yet to be seen it’s a huge question mark there and like

Rotationally right now like I said if he turns out to be a Shawn Livingston that’s terrific because Shawn Livingston came off the bench in his career and they won championships is Lonzo ball going to be willing to do that is his athleticism going to allow him to do

That and so that’s the real question here but I believe that Kobe white has to be the league guard and then it has to defer to uh dumu who I think that has to happen especially if lvim or D Roan move on for sure I gotta agree with that

And that leads us into the second topic there today being Billy Donovan in hot water so we just briefly talked about how you know he’s had to make a lot of tough decisions the front office hasn’t exactly put the best team around him I mean it’s been uh very challenging for

Him to make something out of nothing and then you have this season with all the injuries as well what can he really do it’s been very very difficult for Billy Donovan how do you think he’s handled this so far I think he’s handled it in strive

And the one thing that I love about Coach Billy Donovan is he seems to be upbeat I’ve never heard any kind of player interviews that have really shunned his coaching style um I think he’s done a great job as far as mixing with the vets and the younger players if

You look at his OKC or OKC days he worked with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook at the peaks of their career there I believe that is when Golden State came back from the 3-1 deficit he was actually the coach of that team and he also was around with OKC when they

Went to a slight rebuild where it was Shay Gillis you had Lou Dort and then you had Chris Paul and they were actually able to make the playoffs that year and I believe that was going to be the bubble year as well so Billy Donovan

To me has shown that he can work with range of players here the real issue is not the fact of what he’s coaching up on the court it’s what he has to coach with and I think that that’s the real issue here you know the Chicago Bulls front

Office continue to make moves that never move the franchise forward at some point you’ve got to gut this thing and you’ve got to start over and get an identity and that’s the huge issue with the Chicago Bulls they have zero identity yeah and that’s absolutely accurate I

Mean it’s not even the moves it’s the lack of moves I mean no Acquisitions hardly at all besides we’re talking about a couple free agent signings this offseason they got Javon Carter they got Tory Craig those are guys that you get when you need that extra piece Off the

Bench those are not guys that you go and pick up when you’re in the situation the Chicago Bulls are in you’re basically adding something very small to nothing at all I mean they really need to make some major adjustments decide which direction they want to go in and that

Can really ultimately Define their future what they do this offseason and that leads us into this next article saying is Billy Donovan the right head coach to develop the Chicago Bulls young players this was by Merk Lawrence and uh from Yahoo Sports on bulls wire it starts out by saying the Chicago Bulls

Had a bad loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at the United Center and fans of the team were left with more questions than answers after the defeat is the youth movement on the team back on track she would be more worried about the team’s Elder Statesman as far as leadership

Goes and is Billy D Donovan the right head coach to develop the team’s young players at times there seems to be reluctance to play the ball club’s younger players in key junctures even after what we have seen from this team’s younger players of late could a coaching

Change end up coming in the 2024 NBA off seon one second yeah I mean absolutely I think that Billy Donovan is a terrific coach for the Youth I talked about what he was able to do with OKC and let’s not make any mistake about it look the Bulls have

Trusted this guy with an extension that they gave him uh prior to the 2223 season he did lead the club to a 46 and I think 36 record um which was actually its first playoff appearance since 2017 now they got outed by the Milwaukee Bucks but look Billy Donovan can coach

Okay that that’s just the bottom line here now the issue is just the pieces that the Chicago Bulls have and you know I just think that you mentioned in this article too about the youth movement I think that we have to evaluate the youth movement and it really starts with a guy

Like Patrick Williams okay here’s the guy that we got who was fourth you know overall in that draft class and I think we were expecting something like a Scotty Barnes type of player at this point a point forward slash a little bit of a kawhai Leonard feel on the

Defensive end and we’ve seen flashes but we have not gotten that all the way he’s been a bit injury proned this is I believe his second season where we have had to shut him down so I think at this point in time the youth that we have

With Kobe white at the guard situation is fine but we’ve got to address the elephant in the room here and do we move on from Patrick Williams and restart that over again um you know dalen Terry I think is the guy that should be getting playing time along with Julian

Phillips I think that he definitely has rightfully earned some playing time and then we’re not even talking about batin batin might be one of the best shooters that we’ve had since we actually drafted a prospect in lurel marketing so it is time to start to play those guys I get

Where coach Donovan’s at when we’re in the playoff hunt um and it may shake up the veterans a little bit if we start to play these guys but at the end of the day we don’t have anything left yeah I mean the team’s shooting stroke is obviously very pure even at the NBA

Level and on top of that too like you said about dalen Terry and Julian Phillips they definitely deserve some time on this team Phillips has made some mistakes but I think the knock the only knock I can think of on Billy Donovan is if they make mistakes they’re going to

Learn from them but they’ve been taken out very early we need to see some more time from them we’ve seen some more time from Terry as of late but to take some minutes off of dear who’s been playing like 40 plus minutes on many nights it’d

Be great to see if Julian Phillips could take some of those minutes away integrate some of the young guys and get them some experience right away it’s not like we’re going to make a deep playoff push but even if we get past that play and these guys are still still very

Valuable and obviously able to play certain aspects of the game right away yeah I mean I certainly agree with you there and I I just like you said before I mean at some point it’s just that coach Billy Donovan has to trust that you’re going to make mistakes and I

Think I’d heard something before is a famous quote that you’re going to fail your way to success and that’s the same thing in basketball as well as painful as it is and as as important as this game is you know the bottom line is you’ve got to go out there and learn how

To lose before become a winner and that’s what I think we have to look at with our youth movement you’ve got to allow these guys to lose at some things before they ultimately win absolutely that’s a very good point there Rico just before we end it there on this episode

We just want to look at the record that Billy Donovan uh has with the bulls not really all his fault for sure I mean as you mentioned that 46 and 36 record with Lonzo ball and then you look at the rest of the team before him and you look at

Since since then it hasn’t been a whole lot for Billy Donovan he can only do so much I think he’s doing the best job that he can and I think more of this needs to fall on AK and Mer everley ultimately yeah I mean I think the

Bottom line is right there you just pointed out the fact that it it comes down to the front office I mean at what point are we going to hold the front office right accountable when are we going to start to see those articles there when are we going to start to see

Those failed draft picks how many times do we have to continue to throw you know players and coaches out there before the top has to take some responsibility here for these draft picks and for these signings here you know because some of these guys you know why is it that we

Get a guy like batin and we get him undrafted and he’s been more successful than some of our draft picks there has to be something drastically wrong here what are we evaluating in the draft to even get here we shouldn’t be in situations where we’re questioning our

Youth and we shouldn’t be in situations here like you talked about with what we got out on the bench with uh Carter you know and guys like that that we brought over they should be complimenting a championship team not coming in to help kind of bridge the gap rebuild whatever

We are we’re like in a weird leap right now as a team so I we shouldn’t be in this situation and I think that comes down to the front office and not Billy Donovan absolutely I have to agree with you there and that leaves us a lot to

Think about after this episode of bulls dodg us and let us know what you thought about everything that we had to say there today down below in the comment section make sure to like the video if you made it to the end and subscribe the channel lots more to come from me and

Rico and uh that’s both of us here now signing off we’ll see you both in the next time

In this video your hosts, Joey Mercer and Rico Greenhowe, discuss the recent reports of Lonzo Ball’s NEW injury update, and how Billy Donovan is under some heat from the media and fans.

0:00 Bulls news
0:43 Lonzo closer to return?
8:47 Billy Donovan in hot water

Bulls Digest is a channel that breaks down all of the latest news, reports and rumours on the Chicago Bulls. This includes coverage on players such as DeMar DeRozan, Zach Lavine, Alex Caruso, Lonzo Ball, Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams and everyone on the Bulls Roster!